Özvatan (formerly ''Çukur'' and ''Siricha'' (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Σάριχα or Σιριχά) is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Kayseri Province The Kayseri Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in central Turkey. Its area is 16,970 km2, and its population is 1,441,523 (2022). It borders with Sivas, Adana, Niğde, Kahramanmaraş, Yozgat and Nevşehir provinces. T ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 270 km², and its population is 3,819 (2022). It is located in the north east of the province, almost 70 km from Kayseri and 12 km east of Felahiye. It has a harsh climate being too cold in winter and too hot in summer. The mayor is Halit Demir (MHP).

History

The oldest ruins in the district are the Harsa and Zırha Castles, which are located on the side of the river Kızılırmak and are thought to belong to

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

. It is known that mining and trade were engaged in the region during the Hittites period. Around 430 BC, Zırha Castle was added to the territory of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, so it is possible to come across traces of Roman Civilization in the region.

Composition

There are 13

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Özvatan District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023. * Alparslan * Aşağıboğaziçi * Bahçelievler * Cumhuriyet * Güney * Kale * Kavaklı * Kermelik * Küpeli * Taşlıkköy * Tuğlaşah * Yeni * Yukarıboğaziçi

References

Populated places in Kayseri Province Districts of Kayseri Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey {{Kayseri-geo-stub